Systems and methods for providing users with information in audible form

ABSTRACT

Methods for providing users with information in audible form are provided. One such method comprises determining content sources from which information is to be retrieved for responding to a request from a user, retrieving grammar fragments corresponding to the content sources determined, providing a menu format including information for providing the grammar fragments to the user in audible form, and aggregating the grammar fragments retrieved such that the grammar fragments can be provided to the user in audible form in conformance with the menu format. Systems and computer-readable media are also provided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to interactive voicetechnologies and, in particular, to systems and methods for providingusers with information in audible form.

2. Description of the Related Art

Information provided to users by computing devices typically is providedin a graphical form. For instance, a personal computer can be used toaccess a Web site that provides a user with images and/or text via adisplay device. In this visual context, it is known to combine graphicalinformation provided by a variety of sources and to display the combinedgraphical information to the user. This enables a user to visually scanthe combined graphical information and identify a topic about which theuser desires to receive additional information. Once identified, theuser can select the topic, such as by actuating a corresponding icon,and be provided with information related to that topic. Typically, theadditional information is presented in a maximized format, i.e., atleast some of the previously identified topics are no longer displayedto the user and/or the information is presented on a larger portion ofthe display device.

It is also desirable to provide information to users in non-graphicalform, i.e., audible form. However, creating an audible analogue to theaforementioned visual context has not been adequately achieved. This isbecause sources of audible information typically provide grammarfragments that, when combined, cannot be interpreted by voice-renderingapplications and/or, if renderable, are unnecessarily impractical. Forinstance, multiple grammar fragments that are received from multiplesources can be stacked (grouped together) to form a valid VoiceXMLdocument. However, a VoiceXML document with stated grammar fragments isnot properly formatted for use by a VoiceXML interpreter that typicallyis used to render (provide voice) corresponding to VoiceXML documents.By way of further example, if each source of audible informationprovides a grammar fragment that includes “If you would like to accessinformation on ______, please say ‘______’, ” and an interpreter couldrender the stacked fragments, the user would be provided with redundantaudible information, e.g., “If you would like to access information on”is repeated for each source.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention involves providing users with information inaudible form. In this regard, an embodiment of a method in accordancewith the invention comprises receiving information corresponding to arequest for information from a user, determining content sources fromwhich information is to be retrieved for responding to the request,retrieving grammar fragments corresponding to the content sourcesdetermined, providing a menu format including information for providingthe grammar fragments to the user in audible form, and aggregating thegrammar fragments retrieved such that the grammar fragments can beprovided to the user in audible form in conformance with the menuformat.

An embodiment of a system in accordance with the invention comprises amenu format including information for providing grammar fragments to auser in audible form, and a voice menu system configured to communicatewith a communication network, the voice menu system being operative todetermine content sources from which information is to be retrieved forresponding to a request from a user, retrieve grammar fragmentscorresponding to the content sources determined, and aggregate thegrammar fragments retrieved such that the grammar fragments can beprovided to the user in audible form in conformance with the menuformat.

Another embodiment of a system in accordance with the inventioncomprises means for determining content sources from which informationis to be retrieved for responding to a request from a user, means forretrieving grammar fragments corresponding to the content sourcesdetermined, means for providing a menu format including information forproviding the grammar fragments to the user in audible form, and meansfor aggregating the grammar fragments retrieved such that the grammarfragments can be provided to the user in audible form in conformancewith the menu format.

An embodiment of a computer-readable medium in accordance with theinvention comprises logic configured to determine content sources fromwhich information is to be retrieved for responding to a request from auser, logic configured to retrieve grammar fragments corresponding tothe content sources determined, logic configured to provide a menuformat including information for providing the grammar fragments to theuser in audible form, and logic configured to aggregate the grammarfragments retrieved such that the grammar fragments can be provided tothe user in audible form in conformance with the menu format.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference tothe following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram depicting an embodiment of a voiceinformation system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting functionality of the embodiment of thevoice menu system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computer or processor-based system thatcan be used to implement the embodiment of the voice menu system of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting functionality of an embodiment of anaggregation system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 is a portion of code representative of information that can beprovided by a voice portlet.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting functionality of another embodiment ofan aggregation system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting functionality of an embodiment of atransformation system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting structure associated with anembodiment of a transformation system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting functionality of the embodiment of thetransformation system of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a portion of code representative of the embodiment of theJava page server of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a portion of code representative of the embodiment of the taghandler of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is a portion of code representative of the embodiment of thestyle sheet of FIG. 8.

FIG. 13 is a portion of code representative of the output of theembodiment of the transformation system of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be described in detail here, systems and methods in accordancewith the invention involve the use of voice menus for providing userswith audible information. The voice menus are constructed by retrievinggrammar fragments from voice content sources (“portlets”) and thencombining the grammar fragments in a manner that can be interpreted andprovided to a user in audible form. An embodiment of a voice informationsystem that provides such voice menus to users is depicted schematicallyin FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, voice information system 10 includes a voice menusystem 100 that communicates with a communication network 110.Typically, voice menu system 100 is associated with a portal. A portal,which can be implemented as a server, for example, acts as aninformation-managing entity that receives requests for information fromusers, and collects and/or stores information that can be provided tothe users in response to such requests. Note, communication network 110may be any type of communication network employing any network topology,transmission medium, or network protocol. For example, such a networkmay be any public or private packet-switched or other data network,including the Internet, circuit-switched networks, such as thepublic-switched telephone network (PSTN), wireless network, or any otherdesired communications infrastructure and/or combination ofinfrastructures.

Voice information system 10 also includes a voice gateway 120 thatcommunicates with the voice menu system 100. Specifically, in theembodiment of FIG. 1, voice gateway 120 communicates with the voice menusystem 100 via communication network 110. Note, however, that the voicegateway and voice menu system could reside on a single server, forexample, and thus not use communication network 110 as shown tointercommunicate.

Voice gateway 120 facilitates interaction of a user with the voice menusystem. By way of example, if user 130 intends to interact with voicemenu system 100 via a phone 140, the user dials a phone numberassociated with the user's voice homepage. This establishes acommunication link with the voice gateway. The user then speaks into thephone so that an established voice command, which corresponds tocontacting the voice menu system, is provided to the voice gateway. Forinstance, the user could say “contact MyInformation,” “MyInformation”being associated with a portal that is used to provide the user withinformation about which the user is interested.

In response to receiving the established voice command, the voicegateway converts the voice command to a request, such as a HypertextTransfer Protocol (HTTP) request, and communicates the request to thevoice menu system. Note, the request typically is directed to the portalassociated with the voice menu system and not to the voice menu systemitself, as use of the voice menu system preferably is transparent to theuser. Also note that the phone number used to establish communicationwith a voice gateway can be associated with a particular command. Assuch, a voice command need not be used to facilitate a request.

The voice gateway also facilitates the flow of information from theportal back to the user. More specifically, the portal providesinformation to the voice gateway that is converted into audible form,such as by VoiceXML and/or pre-recorded audio, for communication to theuser. Thus, the user is able to hear the information provided by theportal via the phone.

FIG. 1 also depicts several sources of content, e.g., content 150 and160. Content refers to information that is provided to a portal by aportlet. Content typically is provided to a portal and, thus, a voicemenu system, via registration and configuration files. These filesinclude self-describing information (described later) pertaining to theportlet and a grammar fragment. The voice menu system uses grammarfragments for providing a user with a menu of available information,e.g., a list of topics about which additional information can beprovided.

Functionality of the embodiment of the voice information system 10 ofFIG. 1 is depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, thefunctionality (or method) 10 may be construed as beginning at block 210,where information corresponding to a user is received. For example, theinformation can correspond to a request from the user for information.In block 220, information is requested from at least one content source.

Thereafter, such as depicted in block 230, a menu, which is descriptiveof additional information that can be provided to the user, is enabledto be provided to a user in an audible form. Note, the voice menu system100 constructs the menu so that the menu can be processed by the voicegateway and provided to the user in audible form.

Voice menu systems 100 in accordance with the invention can beimplemented in software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof.When implemented in hardware, voice menu system 100 can be implementedwith any or a combination of various technologies. By way of example,the following technologies, which are each well known in the art, can beused: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementinglogic functions upon data signals, an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) having appropriate combinational logic gates, aprogrammable gate array(s) (PGA), and a field programmable gate array(FPGA). Clearly, other known and/or other technologies, i.e.,later-developed technologies, could be used.

When implemented in software, voice menu system 100 can be a programthat is executable by a digital computer, an example of which isschematically depicted in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, computer 300 includes aprocessor 302, memory 304, and one or more input and/or output (I/O)devices 306 that are communicatively coupled via a local interface 308.Processor 302 can be a hardware device configured to execute softwarethat can be stored in memory 304. Memory 304 can include any combinationof volatile memory elements and/or nonvolatile memory elements.Moreover, memory 304 can incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical,and/or other types of storage media. Note that memory 304 can have adistributed architecture, where various components are situated remotefrom one another, but can be accessed by processor 302.

The software in memory 304 can include one or more separate programs,each of which comprises an ordered listing of executable instructionsfor implementing logical functions. The software in the embodiment ofmemory 304 shown includes voice menu system 100 and a suitable operatingsystem (O/S) 310. The operating system 310 controls the execution ofcomputer programs, such as voice menu system 100, and, optionally, othercomputer programs.

Note, voice menu system 100 of FIG. 3 comprises an aggregation system320 and a transformation system 330. The aggregation system 320facilitates retrieval of content from sources, and the transformationsystem 330 modifies the content so that a voice dialog can be providedto a user. Functionality of the embodiments of aggregation system 320and the transformation system 330 will be described in detail later.

The I/O device(s) 306 can include input devices, such as a keypad,and/or output devices, such as a display device. 1/O device(s) 306 mayfurther include devices that are configured to communicate both inputsand outputs, such as a communication interface.

When voice menu system 100 is implemented in software, it should benoted that the voice menu system can be stored on any computer-readablemedium for use by or in connection with any computer-related system ormethod. In the context of this document, a computer-readable medium isan electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical device or means thatcan contain or store a computer program for use by or in connection witha computer-related system or method. Voice menu system 100 can beembodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connectionwith an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system thatcan fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.

As used herein, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that canstore, communicate, propagate or transport a program for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.Thus, a computer-readable medium can be, for example but not limited to,an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. Morespecific examples (a nonexhaustive list) of a computer-readable mediuminclude the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having oneor more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random accessmemory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory)(electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact discread-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Note that the computer-readablemedium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which theprogram is printed, as the program could be electronically captured, viaoptical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled,interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory.

Reference will now be made to the flowchart of FIG. 4, which depicts thefunctionality of an embodiment of an aggregation system 320. In thisregard, each block of the flowchart represents a module segment orportion of code that comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat in some alternative implementations the functions noted in variousblocks of FIG. 4, or any other of the accompanying flowcharts, may occurout of the order in which they are depicted. For example, two blocksshown in succession in FIG. 4 may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently. In other embodiments, the blocks may sometimes be executedin the reverse order depending upon the functionality involved.Additionally, or alternatively, functionality of one or more blocks maybe entirely omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the functionality (or method) 320 may be construedas beginning at block 410, where information corresponding to a user isreceived. In block 420, information corresponding to multiple contentsources is requested. More specifically, the aggregation systemfacilitates communication with the content sources so that the contentsources are able to provide information to the voice menu system.Thereafter, such as depicted in block 430, information, which typicallyincludes grammar fragments, is received from each of the contentsources.

An example of information that can be provided from a content source inresponse to a request from a voice menu system 100 is depicted in FIG.5. In particular, FIG. 5 represents a VoiceXML snippet 500 that includesa title 510, a speech grammar recognition fragment (“grammar fragment”)520, and a result action 530. Clearly, information in addition to, or inlieu of, that shown in FIG. 5 could be provided by the content source.There also is no particular requirement that the information be providedin a VoiceXML format.

As shown in FIG. 6, the functionality (or method) 320 of anotherembodiment of the aggregation system may be construed as beginning atblock 610, where information corresponding to a request for informationis received. In block 620, content sources to be used for responding tothe request are identified. By way of example, a portal associated witha voice menu system 100 can contact content sources designated by themanager of the voice menu system. For instance, a portal could use afirst designated portlet for obtaining sports information, while using asecond designated portlet for obtaining weather information. Incontrast, some embodiments can enable a user to select one or morecontent sources from which content is to be retrieved. In such anembodiment, user preferences corresponding to particular portlets can beobtained from a user. These user preferences can be saved in a database,for example, so that, when the user contacts the portal, informationcorresponding to the user preferences can be accessed. The userpreferences then can be used to instruct the voice menu system aboutwhich portlets are to be contacted for retrieving information. By way ofexample, in one embodiment, information corresponding to the states ofportlets from which content was acquired can be stored. In such anembodiment, if the information indicates that a content source wasmaximized in association with a previous request for content by theuser, content from that content source can be provided to the user inresponse to the next request.

In some embodiments, a user can perform a log-in to initiate use ofuser-designated content sources. For example, if the user properlylogs-in, user preferences can be used to designate content sources. If,however, the user is not able to log-in properly, the user may beprovided with standard services. Such standard services may includeinformation being provided by content sources selected by the portalmanager, for example. Thus, various levels of service differentiationcan be provided.

Regardless of the particular manner used for determining contentsources, once the content sources are identified, the process preferablyproceeds to block 630, where states of the respective content sourcesare determined. For instance, a determination is made as to whether eachcontent source exhibits a maximized, normalized or minimized state. A“minimized” state refers to a portlet from which only self-describinginformation of that portlet is being used by a portal. In contrast, a“maximized” state refers to a portlet from which self-describinginformation of, and additional information provided by, that portlet isbeing used by a portal. Typically, information from other portlets isnot accessible to a user when a portlet exhibits a maximized state. A“normalized” state refers to a portlet that is providing moreinformation to a portal than would be provided if the portlet exhibiteda minimized state, and less information than would be provided if theportlet exhibited a maximized state. Note, state transitions of portletstypically are driven by portals, and that a portlet may simultaneouslyexhibit multiple states. That is, a portlet can be minimized as to oneportal while being maximized as to another portal.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 6, in block 640, information from atleast one content source is requested. More specifically, based on thestate of the content source, information is requested by the aggregationsystem 320. For instance, in some embodiments, if the state of each ofthe content sources identified is minimized, information is requestedfrom all of the content sources. In such an embodiment, if one or moreof the content sources does not exhibit a minimized state, informationis obtained only from the content sources that are not minimized. Inthis manner, if one of the content sources is maximized, information isobtained only from that content source. Stated differently, if theidentified content sources all exhibit minimized states, each of thecontent sources provide self-describing information (such as depicted inFIG. 5) to the aggregation system.

In some embodiments, if a content source is maximized, e.g., a userdesires to receive information from that content source only, a requestcan be directed to that content source so that information from thatcontent source is provided to the user. In such an example, constructionof a menu by the voice menu system can be bypassed. This is becausecontent provided by a single source typically is structured in a formatthat does not require a dynamically-formed menu for enabling userinteroperability.

Once information is received from the content sources, the informationcan be compiled, such as depicted in block 650, for use by atransformation system 330. Functionality of an embodiment of atransformation system 330 will now be described with respect to theflowchart of FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 7, the functionality (or method) 330 may be construedas beginning at block 710, where retrieved information corresponding tocontent sources is accessed. In block 720, information corresponding toa menu format is accessed. Thereafter, such as depicted in block 730,information corresponding to each of the content sources is modified, ifrequired, to conform to the menu format. As mentioned before, thisenables formatted information to be provided to a voice gateway so thatan audible menu can be provided to a user.

An embodiment of a transformation system 330 will now be described withrespect to FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, transformation system 330includes a Java server page 810, a tag handler 820, and a style sheet830. The Java server page 810 is a text document that is dynamicallycompiled by the voice menu system 100 to form a Java servlet (notshown). The Java servlet is a component model for creating dynamic menucontent. More specifically, the Java servlet can be dynamically modifiedby use of the tag handler 820, which, via the open Java architecture,enables third party users to modify the Java server page withoutinserting code into the page. The data contained in the Java server pagealso is amenable to XSL transformation. In particular, the data can betransformed to conform with a format presented by the XSL style sheet830. Clearly, other open architectures could be used.

Functionality of the embodiment of the transformation system of FIG. 8is depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, thefunctionality (or method) may be construed as beginning at block 910,where information corresponding to content sources is received. In block920, an XSL style sheet is accessed. Thereafter, such as depicted inblock 930, information corresponding to each of the content sources istransformed using the style sheet. In block 940, a VoiceXML dialogconforming to the style sheet is enabled to be provided by thetransformation system.

An example of code corresponding to Java server page 810 is depicted inFIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 10, the code includes a conditional for text1010, as well as a conditional for voice 1020. In particular, theconditional for voice 1020 includes various elements for implementingfunctionality of this embodiment of the transformation system. Inparticular, page tag 1030 corresponds to a VoiceXML dialog, window tag1040 corresponds to a portlet, layout tag 1050 corresponds to amechanism for controlling portal interaction with portlets, andtransform 1060 corresponds to tag handler 820 of FIG. 8. Note, layouttag 1050 typically is responsible for initiating portal content with apage (portlet).

An embodiment of tag handler 820 is depicted in FIG. 11. As shown inFIG. 11, the tag handler detects whether transformation of informationacquired from content sources is required. Note, transformation may notbe required in some embodiments unless all of the content sourcesexhibit minimized states. That is, in some embodiments, if one or moreof the content sources exhibits a normalized or maximized state,transformation may not be required as information may be provided to theuser from the content source that is normalized or maximized. Since theinformation is being provided from the normalized or maximized contentsource, a menu corresponding to multiple content sources may not beprovided to the user until all of the content sources are driven tominimized states.

If it is determined that a transformation is required, the tag handler820 applies an XSL transform by using XSL style sheet 830 to restructurethe information contained in the Java server page 810. An example of anXSLT file that includes an XSLT style sheet is depicted in FIG. 12.Note, various formats of XSL style sheets other than that depicted inFIG. 12 can be used.

FIG. 13 depicts the output 1300 produced by restructuring data receivedfrom content sources so that the data conforms with the XSL style sheetof FIG. 12. As shown in FIG. 13, this output is a consumable VoiceXMLdocument that can be executed by a voice gateway. Specifically, theoutput 1300 includes a declaration 1310 that describes the informationas being a VoiceXML document. The form portion 1320 of the outputcontains information that is to be provided to a user in audible form.The grammar section 1330 indicates those voice prompts that, if providedby the user in the form of a voice command, prompts the voice menusystem to perform a particular action. For instance, the grammar filledconditional 1340 indicates that, if the user speaks the appropriatewords, a particular portlet will be contacted for information. Morespecifically, the portlet identified would be placed in a maximizedstate and corresponding information would be retrieved from the portletand provided to the user.

One of the embodiments described herein associates minimized portletstates with construction of a menu. In some embodiments, initial contactof a user with a portal operating a voice menu system, however, cancause all portlets communicating with that portal to be minimized. Thus,construction of a menu could be initiated after the portal drives theportlets to minimized states.

1. A method for providing a user with information in audible form, saidmethod comprising: determining content sources from which information isto be retrieved for responding to the request; retrieving grammarfragments corresponding to the content sources determined; providing amenu format including information for providing the grammar fragments tothe user in audible form; and aggregating the grammar fragmentsretrieved such that the grammar fragments can be provided to the user inaudible form in conformance with the menu format, wherein retrievinggrammar fragments comprises: determining states exhibited by the contentsources; and retrieving grammar fragments based, at least in part, uponthe states exhibited.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein retrievinggrammar fragments comprises: retrieving grammar fragments from onlythose content sources which exhibit minimized states.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: enabling the states of the content sourcesto exhibit minimized states such that grammar fragments can be retrievedfrom the content sources.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningcontent sources comprises: enabling the user to designate at least someof the content sources from which information is to be retrieved.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the menu format corresponds to an XSLT stylesheet; and further comprising: performing an XSL transformation withrespect to the grammar fragments using the XSLT style sheet.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein retrieving grammar fragments comprises:compiling the grammar fragments as entries in a VoiceXML text document.7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining content sources from whichinformation is to be retrieved comprises: accessing user datacorresponding to user preferences; and identifying content sourcesassociated with the user data.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein userpreferences correspond to content sources and respective content sourcestates corresponding to a previous request for information from theuser; and further comprising: enabling information corresponding to thecontent source that was maximized to be provided to the user if the userdata indicates that the content source was maximized in association withsuch previous request.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein, if the userdata indicates that the content source was maximized, the informationcorresponding to the content source is enabled to be provided to theuser without the accessing and aggregating steps being performed. 10.The method of claim 1, further comprising: modifying the menu format toform a modified menu format such that a menu containing informationcorresponding to the grammar fragments, and complying with the modifiedmenu format, is enabled to be provided to the user in audible form. 11.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving informationcorresponding to a request for information from a user.
 12. The methodof claim 1, wherein retrieving grammar fragments comprises: retrievinggrammar fragments from only those content sources that exhibit maximizedstates.
 13. A system for providing a user with information in audibleform, said system comprising: means for determining content sources fromwhich information is to be retrieved for responding to a request from auser; means for retrieving grammar fragments corresponding to thecontent sources determined; means for providing a menu format includinginformation for providing the grammar fragments to the user in audibleform; and means for aggregating the grammar fragments retrieved suchthat the grammar fragments can be provided to the user in audible formin conformance with the menu format; wherein said means for retrievinggrammar fragments is operative to retrieve grammar fragments fromcontent sources based, at least in part, upon exhibit states of thecontent sources.
 14. The system of claim 13, further comprising: meansfor receiving the information corresponding to the request forinformation from the user.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein saidmeans for retrieving grammar fragments is operative to retrieve grammarfragments from only those content sources which exhibit minimizedstates.
 16. The system of claim 15, further comprising: means forenabling the states of the content sources to exhibit minimized statessuch that grammar fragments can be retrieved from the content sources.17. The system of claim 13, wherein the menu format corresponds to anXSLT style sheet; and further comprising: means for performing an XSLtransformation with respect to the grammar fragments using the XSLTstyle sheet.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein said means forretrieving grammar fragments is operative to retrieve grammar fragmentsfrom only those content sources that exhibit maximized states.
 19. Asystem for providing a user with information in audible form, saidsystem comprising: a menu format including information for providinggrammar fragments to a user in audible form; and a voice menu systemconfigured to communicate with a communication network, said voice menusystem being operative to determine content sources from whichinformation is to be retrieved for responding to a request from a user,determining states exhibited by the content sources, retrieve grammarfragments corresponding to the content sources based, at least in part,upon the states exhibited, and aggregate the grammar fragments retrievedsuch that the grammar fragments can be provided to the user in audibleform in conformance with the menu format.
 20. The system of claim 19,further comprising: a memory storage device communicatively coupled tothe voice menu system, the menu format being stored by the memorystorage device.
 21. The system of claim 19, wherein the menu formatcorresponds to an XSLT style sheet; and wherein said voice menu systemis operative to perform an XSL transformation with respect to thegrammar fragments using the XSLT style sheet.
 22. The system of claim19, wherein said voice menu system is operative to compile informationcorresponding to the grammar fragments as entries in a VoiceXML textdocument.
 23. The system of claim 19, wherein said voice menu system isconstructed with an open architecture such that the menu format can bemodified to form a modified menu format, the modified menu formatenabling a menu containing information corresponding to the grammarfragments and complying with the modified menu format to be provided tothe user in audible form.
 24. The system of claim 19, wherein the voicemenu system is further operative to retrieve grammar fragments from onlythose content sources that exhibit minimized states.
 25. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the voice menu system is further operative to retrievegrammar fragments from only those content sources that exhibit maximizedstates.
 26. A computer-readable medium having a computer program forproviding a user with information in audible form, said computer programcomprising: logic configured to determine content sources from whichinformation is to be retrieved for responding to a request from a user;logic configured to retrieve grammar fragments corresponding to thecontent sources based, at least in part, on states exhibited by thecontent sources; logic configured to provide a menu format includinginformation for providing the grammar fragments to the user in audibleform; and logic configured to aggregate the grammar fragments retrievedsuch that the grammar fragments can be provided to the user in audibleform in conformance with the menu format.
 27. The computer-readablemedium of claim 26, further comprising: logic configured to enable thestates of the content sources to exhibit minimized states such thatgrammar fragments can be retrieved from the content sources.
 28. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein said logic configured todetermine content sources is operative to enable the user to designateat least some of the content sources from which information is to beretrieved.
 29. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein themenu format corresponds to an XSLT style sheet; and further comprising:logic configured to perform an XSL transformation with respect to thegrammar fragments using the XSLT style sheet.
 30. The computer-readablemedium of claim 26, wherein said logic configured to retrieve grammarfragments is operative to compile the grammar fragments as entries in aVoiceXML text document.
 31. The computer-readable medium of claim 26,wherein said logic configured to determine content sources from whichinformation is to be retrieved comprises: logic configured to accessuser data corresponding to user preferences; and logic configured toidentify content sources associated with the user data.
 32. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein user preferencescorrespond to content sources and respective content source statesassociated with a previous request for information from the user; andfurther comprising: logic configured to enable information correspondingto a content source that was maximized to be provided to the user if theuser data indicates that the content source was maximized in associationwith such previous request.
 33. The computer-readable medium of claim26, further comprising: logic configured to modify the menu format toform a modified menu format such that a menu containing informationcorresponding to the grammar fragments, and complying with the modifiedmenu format, is enabled to be provided to the user in audible form.